UN Command pushes back against South Korea move to control non-military access to Demilitarized Zone

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) — The United Nations Command (UNC) has pushed back against South Korea’s efforts to take control of non-military access to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), citing its long-standing role under the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War.

The UNC response comes as South Korea’s parliament debates a bill introduced by lawmakers from the ruling party that would give the government authority to regulate civilian access to the DMZ.

“Since 1953, UNC has been the successful administrator of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a role that has been essential in maintaining stability, especially amid periods of heightened inter-Korean tensions,” the UNC said in a statement published on its website.

The 250-kilometer (155-mile) DMZ separates South and North Korea. The two sides remain technically at war, as the 1950–1953 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

The UNC serves as the body responsible for enforcing the armistice.

“No person, military or civilian, shall be permitted to enter the demilitarized zone except persons concerned with the conduct of civil administration and relief and persons specifically authorized to enter by the Military Armistice Commission,” the UNC said.

The debate over control of DMZ access resurfaced after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young highlighted the bill’s importance, noting that a senior presidential security official and Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik were denied entry to the buffer zone, according to Yonhap News.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry backs the legislation, framing it as a matter of “territorial sovereignty.” The UNC, however, maintains that the armistice agreement remains the “binding framework” governing access to the DMZ.

The Unification Ministry has also faced opposition from South Korea’s Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry over the proposed change.

The issue emerges as South Korea, under President Lee Jae Myung, seeks the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) of its forces from the US to Seoul.

South Korea currently holds peacetime OPCON through its Joint Chiefs of Staff, while wartime control remains with the US-led Combined Forces Command.

The country hosts about 28,500 US troops under a mutual defense treaty, even as inter-Korean communication channels remain frozen. Lee has repeatedly stressed the need to restore ties with North Korea.